Sweetheart of the Rodeo (Legacy Edition)

by

The Byrds

Edit

This album was considered revolutionary when it was originally recorded - a rock band recording a country album with a rock edge - but it was so influential that nobody hearing it now will think there is anything revolutionary about it.

Bob Dylan wrote two of the songs - You ain't going nowhere and Nothing was delivered - while there are also covers of songs by soul singer William Bell (You don't miss your water) and Woody Guthrie (Pretty boy Floyd).

Gram Parsons contributed two songs - One hundred years from now and Hickory wind. He also wrote Lazy days, which was recorded for the original album but not included on it. This is added as one of several bonus tracks, some of which feature Gram as lead singer instead of Roger McGuinn.

The remaining tracks are covers of country songs that had previously been recorded by (among others) George Jones and Merle Haggard.

Not long after this album was recorded, Chris Hillman and Gram Parsons left and formed the Flying Burrito brothers. The music here set the pattern for that band and other country-rock bands such as Poco and the early Eagles music. But in the new millennium, mainstream pop, rock and country music all seem far removed from this album. Modern singers and bands doing music of this type are classified as alt-country. Although the term alt-country covers many different styles, the influence of this album is obvious in many alt-country singers and bands.

The music here is excellent on its own merit. It was not very successful at the time but has grown in status with the passage of time.

I bought this album a year or so back because I am a fan of roots country bands like BR549 and The Derailers and I thought I could get another fun and tuneful album to add to my collection.

Although the album is OKAY, I can't give it an enthusiastic recommendation as a top-tier roots country or country-rock album. It's just has no emotional punch to it. As you can see by the accompanying reviews, however, it has its fans. So just to make sure I wasn't crazy, I went to my three favorite music review sites to see what they had to say:

My first stop didn't support my views... The All-Music Guide gave it 5 stars out of 5 and held it up as maybe the Byrds' best album. Here are a couple of quotes: "..no major band had gone so deep into the sound and feeling of classic country (without parody or condescension).." "..few albums in the style are as beautiful and emotionally affecting as this."

My reaction: I guess Hickory Wind is a pretty good song. BR549 did a cover on their first album and I like it there too.

Next site: Wilson and Alroy give it 2 ½ stars of 5. "for Byrds fans, it's so countrified that hardly a smidgen of the Byrds' original sound remains." "And some of it's sincere to the point of being nauseating" (The review was by Alroy)

My reaction: That last comment rings true for me.

George Starostin on his website "Only Solitaire" gives it a rating of 6 out of 10. "the album as a whole is dang uninteresting." "the arrival of Gram Parsons on the scene proved to be crucial and, in the long run, disastrous for the Byrds" "This isn't even country-rock - it's just pure country, with pedal steel guitar as the only prominent instrument in existence. The result is that it gets boring. And boy, does it get boring..." "...ten dull, gloomy, ploddering numbers that resemble each other like two drops of water and make the record sound horrendously dated and pointless."

My reaction: 1) Ploddering is not a word, but it does seem to apply here. 2) George is a big fan of the Byrds, so you'd think he'd be kinder. Still, he gives it the same rating I did, meaning he can't deny it's at least OKAY.

To recap; I just can't get as excited as some others. I guess I'm looking for music that can get my foot stomping or with a great melodic hook or lyrics that make me smile. I get none of that on this album. This album just kind of ambles and leaves no memorable. A couple of the songs sound like fair to middlin' Grateful Dead songs. One even makes me recall the Mama's and Papa's (which is not good for me, but maybe you'll like it). In the end then, I'm glad I have had a chance to hear where country rock got started and kudos to the Byrds for getting the ball rolling, I'm just as glad though, that some others took the genre to much higher levels.